Effective asset management calls for the need of analysing your business’s spending on essential supplies. Along with the various equipment and raw materials required for production, there are several other things that go into a company’s operational efficiency.
While calculating the budget, items such as printer ink, batteries, gloves, and so on, might not be on the top of your priority list, which may lead to various operational issues for your business. That’s when MRO inventory management comes into play.
If you’ve ever managed the operations and procurement of a business, you might have already heard about this term. However, without truly understanding what MRO is and how it is crucial for your business, your production lines may halt anytime soon.
Therefore, for the sake of clarification, let us discuss the what’s and how’s of MRO to help you develop an understanding of this particular area.
What Exactly is MRO?
MRO stands for Maintenance, Repair, and Operations, which involves a myriad of equipment, tools, supplies, activities, and spare parts required to produce a product or service. Basically, it includes everything required by a company to stay in business.
The typical examples of MRO may include things like computers, safety equipment, janitorial supplies, and formal processes across the various departments of your company. This makes it crucial for businesses to manage their MRO efficiently.
As every business operates differently and serves varying customers, MRO tends to vary as per the company. However, there’s always a certain list of activities and items required by businesses to keep operating, which can be considered as MRO.
Moreover, while these items may cost less individually, the total volume of items in the inventory can have a major impact on your overall budget.
Importance of MRO Inventory Management
There are various reasons to manage your MRO inventory, such as the ability to visualize and centralize spending across various locations. With good CMMS software in place, you can assess vendors at every physical presence of your company and meet your business needs in no time.
This also allows managers to spend less time waiting for items and emphasize more on other important aspects of your business. As everything can be tracked with the help of a CMMS system, you can also prevent losing your inventory.
A lot of companies don’t track MRO spare parts as efficiently as the materials required for production. For instance, while ordering MRO parts, you may log data such as vendor information and total cost but might miss out on quantities, part names, or individual costs.
Managing MRO with CMMS
To make your maintenance department’s work easier, you can use a CMMS to manage your MRO inventory and enjoy a variety of benefits that help you streamline your business processes and bring more efficiency to them.
Here’s a list of benefits that you may enjoy with a CMMS for MRO.
- Avoid ordering excess items.
- Distribute parts more accurately.
- Improve your workflow efficiency.
- Know where the items are being used.
- Determine the quantity, cost, and frequency of ordered items.
When you manage your MRO inventory properly, you can ensure that the maintenance work is conducted efficiently for minimal downtime. Additionally, it also helps in maximized production and better cost controlling.
Final Words
Whether you have a small-scale start-up or a giant enterprise, it’s worth taking some time out to understand your company’s MRO. In case you don’t, your company might end up tackling disasters caused due to inefficient management.
If you’re looking for an easier alternative, you may consider adopting a CMMS to make your MRO inventory management processes more streamlined and understand how to improve maintenance department of your company.
